Write a story. Write a book. Make a movie. Make … And create your own IP.

The light novels serve as wonderful examples of having back stories for the characters and the environments they are in. Case in point, teach Miss Yuki in Your Name is reported by fan wiki site as the same as Yukari Yukino (雪野 百香里) in Shinkai‘s The Garden of Words (another great film I LOVE, very different from the story usually told by the master Hayao Miyazaki).

I am much less harsh on “remakes” especially when sight and script unseen. New creative endeavours do NOT really have negative impact on great original works that came before them! I hope the team of J. J. Abrams and Eric Heisserer (who penned the script for the GREAT film Arrival directed by Denis Villeneuve)does a good job

Thought experiment

I hope to have a few thought experiments of my own re how would I had adapted the screenplay if I were to have a chance to? And I would love to see how the Heisserer & Abrams version come out looking like.

*) Japan <==> US (NOTE: this seems to be a 90% must to fit the US audiences and the cultural fit of the two main leads)

*) Miyamizu shrine <<==>> Indigenous Americans religious beliefs (?)

*) Taki waking up as Mitsuha and checking her body out <==> ???? (NOTE: This has provided much comic relief but I am NOT at all sure how and if this will translate to a US script.)

“將軍，我在美國營地。將軍，你夫人給我託夢了，她說你應憑藉勇氣[[來幫助拯救世界。戰爭]]不成就英雄，只會留下孤兒寡母。” (The words enclosed in “[[” “]]” are even more of a guess but reasonable enough as per what I slightly modified from this Reddit discussion thread.)

Or in English, “In war there are no winners, only orphans and widows.” (Note: I struggle between the more faithful “heroes” for “英雄” but ultimately settle with others’ choice of “winners” because that may be closer to the western sentiment for “英雄” as winners.) Ref reading: Thrillist, “THE MYSTERY LINE IN ‘ARRIVAL,’ REVEALED“

“Sims: A scene that really stuck out for me was the conversation between Louise and General Sheng. It felt like the lynchpin for the film’s message of understanding and communication, because we’ve only seen him as a stereotypical figure: the stern Chinese general that you see on the TV.

Heisserer: Right! And why? Because we’re seeing it through the filter of the U.S. intelligence network; it’s their version of him. We’re not seeing a person. It’s our misinterpretation of what we think China is doing. So it falls into a bit of a trope, again, simply because we’re the U.S., the military-industrial complex, whatever you want to call it. We’re think of them as a potential enemy. And we’re taking whatever’s being said in Chinese, whoever’s translating that is taking it to the U.S. news and saying, “Oh, this is the big bad general.” No. We don’t know what’s going on with him until we see him in person. We realize he’s not the character we thought him to be: He’s really honored to meet Louise, and something really poetic and personal has happened there.

For the longest time in the script, for the scene where they’re on the phone, I had just written, “She says something in Mandarin to him, and we know this is his wife’s dying words.” And I just found it lovely and poetic, and I didn’t think about it further until [the actor] Tzi Ma calls me and says, “Eric, Eric. What does she say?” And I reply, “Well, she says something in Mandarin!” And he replies, “This is the most important line in the film, this saves the world, Eric! What is the line?” So I kept bringing him ideas, and he would say, “Eric, I love you, but this is terrible.” So finally, I gave him something, and he said, “I deeply love this, this is the line, this is exactly what should be said, I will use this.” And I finally see the final cut of the film, and we get to that scene, and she says the line, and [the director] Denis [Villeneuve], the scoundrel, does not use subtitles. So nobody knows, unless you speak Mandarin, what she says to him.

Sims: So I’m going to have to get a translator? That feels appropriate.

Adaption from play, short story, novel, etc are magical art. So I refuse to point blank declare the Oscar nominated Heisserer must fail with Your Name. Those who often without much knowledge nor talent are often the fast to declare things/challenges as “impossible”!

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(TBC) Hopefully more to be added later.

]]>https://ideasvacuum.wordpress.com/2018/10/05/your-name-inspiration-adaptation-thought-experiment/feed/0kempton20181005 Your Name DVD and two books - DSC_3222.JPGSamantha Barks in Pretty Woman: The Musicalhttps://ideasvacuum.wordpress.com/2018/08/03/samantha-barks-in-pretty-woman-the-musical/
https://ideasvacuum.wordpress.com/2018/08/03/samantha-barks-in-pretty-woman-the-musical/#respondFri, 03 Aug 2018 17:40:24 +0000http://ideasvacuum.wordpress.com/?p=148I’m fascinated by Pretty Woman: The Musical starring Samantha Barks as Vivian Ward, a role originally played by the amazing Julia Roberts in the original movie.

Note that Steve Kazee played the key role of Edward Lewis in the original Chicago production left for “family reasons” and Andy Karl replaced him. “Mr. Kazee’s family home burned down recently [in May 2018], and he has been helping his father resettle.” [a tweet with pix]

Your Name (君の名は) by Makoto Shinkai is one of my most favourite recent Japanese anime films. In an NHK interview Shinkai stated, “I just wanted to pack the film with everything I had ever felt over the course of my life.”

]]>https://ideasvacuum.wordpress.com/2017/04/21/your-name-by-makoto-shinkai/feed/0kemptonThe Girl who Leapt Through Time (2006) by Mamoru Hosodahttps://ideasvacuum.wordpress.com/2017/04/21/the-girl-who-leapt-through-time-2006-by-mamoru-hosoda/
https://ideasvacuum.wordpress.com/2017/04/21/the-girl-who-leapt-through-time-2006-by-mamoru-hosoda/#respondFri, 21 Apr 2017 17:16:31 +0000http://ideasvacuum.wordpress.com/?p=141The Girl who Leapt Through Time (2006) by Mamoru Hosoda is an interesting film. Worth a watch.

]]>https://ideasvacuum.wordpress.com/2017/04/21/the-girl-who-leapt-through-time-2006-by-mamoru-hosoda/feed/0kemptonWatch “Revolution Trilogy” 睇「革命三部曲」https://ideasvacuum.wordpress.com/2016/03/18/watch-revolution-trilogy/
Fri, 18 Mar 2016 18:30:37 +0000http://ideasvacuum.wordpress.com/?p=108Director/producer/independent reporter Kempton Lam has made three full-length documentaries from 2004 – 2015. Kempton’s debut documentary Long Hair Revolution 「長毛革命」 has been collected by the Canadian National Archive since 2009. The three documentaries are collectively known as “Revolution Trilogy” 「革命三部曲」 and are in Cantonese with English subtitles (廣東話、英文字幕). You can watch the three films at this YouTube Playlist (beautifully projected on your big screen HDTV or on your computer). Enjoy!

]]>https://ideasvacuum.wordpress.com/2015/10/30/kate-winslets-determination-and-drive-got-her-the-role-in-steve-jobs/feed/0kemptonJulie & Julia (2009) film commentary by Nora Ephronhttps://ideasvacuum.wordpress.com/2013/04/29/julie-julia-2009-film-commentary-by-nora-ephron/
https://ideasvacuum.wordpress.com/2013/04/29/julie-julia-2009-film-commentary-by-nora-ephron/#respondTue, 30 Apr 2013 02:44:42 +0000http://ideasvacuum.wordpress.com/?p=85I went to the library to pick up the wonderful film Julie & Julia (2009) again so that I can watch and listen to the film commentary by Nora Ephron (who sadly passed away last year on June 26, 2012). I noticed some of the commentaries quite interesting and I found someone (his name is Lawrence) has already transcribed some of Nora‘s wonderful commentary (from part one all the way to part eleven (with links to all eleven parts)) in roughly 10 minutes chucks. Incidentally, I found Lawrence’s commentary quite harsh (and rude) at many places for my taste.

Let me quote this particular insightful commentary by Nora from part eleven,

“I first heard of Julie Powell, in fact when I read this article in the Times. I went and read her blog, which is completely charming and fraught with the energy and the hysteria of this project. She’s a very funny writer and… and it crossed my mind that it might make a movie and then I just couldn’t see how you did it—it wasn’t until I heard the idea… which belonged to Amy Robinson, one of the producers, of combining these two stories, then I saw… I saw that you could make a movie out of this.

But in fact, that article changed Julie Powell’s life and… she was flooded with offers.“

In the interview, Tom and I talked about TiVo’s relationship with the advertising industry and television networks. When people are fast-forwarding commercials using technologies like DVR, television “needs to find different forms of inventory that involve different technologies as a way to present that [advertising] so that the advertising is compelling”. Tom gave the example of TiVo’s ability to pause live TV, so viewers can search and find any products appearing in a TV show (a sweater worn by an actress, a golf club used by an athlete, or any products on screen at the moment) and then turn the thought into an actionable transaction where the viewer can buy the product. TiVo is putting a lot of meta data into the TV content and movie content and in doing so, create a lot of “transaction opportunities”.

I also asked Tom When will TiVo come to Canada? And will the data collected by TiVo be transferable to Canada and other countries.

Tom Rogers is President and Chief Executive Officer of TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs). With a career that operates at the nexus of where media, technology, advertising and public policy come together for more than two decades, Tom brings to TiVo a distinctive blend of operational leadership and corporate strategy experience across multiple facets of the industry. With vast experience in running traditional media and new media companies, and in creating innovative business models for companies facing new challenges, Tom is poised to help TiVo continue to revolutionize the way consumers watch and access home entertainment. Previously, Tom was Chairman and CEO of PRIMEDIA, Inc. (NYSE: PRM), which then was the leading targeted media company in the United States. PRIMEDIA published some 200 magazines, operated more than 400 websites, and owned a wide range of television and video businesses. Prior to joining PRIMEDIA, Tom was President of NBC Cable and Executive Vice President of NBC, as well as NBC’s chief strategist. Among his many accomplishments, Tom founded CNBC, the nation’s leading business news channel and established the NBC/Microsoft cable channel and Internet joint venture, MSNBC. In addition, he served as co-chairman of the Arts and Entertainment and History Channels, and was responsible for overseeing many other cable channels including Court TV, Bravo, American Movie Classics, Independent Film Channel, the National Geographic Channel, and numerous regional sports channels. Prior to NBC, Tom was Senior Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Telecommunications, Consumer Protection and Finance Subcommittee, where he was responsible for drafting a number of communications laws, including the Cable Act of 1984, as well as overseeing the FCC. Tom began his career as an attorney with a Wall Street law firm. Tom also served recently as the Senior Operating Executive for media and entertainment for Cerberus Capital Management, a large private equity firm, and as Chairman of the Board of Teleglobe (NASDAQ: TLGB), a leading international telecommunications, voice-over-internet, and mobile telephony provider. He currently also serves as Chairman of TRget Media, LLC, a media investment and operations advisory firm.

***

Here is Banff description of the session.

In Conversation with Tom Rogers, President & CEO, TiVO

The biggest trends in television today are toward increased audience control – how will your company navigate the medium as time-shifting, pause, rewind and fast forward become standard options?

TiVo has changed the television industry, introducing the digital video recorder (DVR) into homes worldwide, and kicking off a shift in viewer behaviour that has rippled through every aspect of the home entertainment experience. President and CEO Tom Rogers, with a career spent navigating the intersection of media, technology, advertising and public policy, is helping TiVo continue to revolutionize how consumers watch and access television.

Learn from the man at the helm of the company that has changed the way people watch TV, at BANFF 2010

]]>https://ideasvacuum.wordpress.com/2010/07/09/tivo-ceo-tom-rogers-interview-banff-world-tv-festival-2010/feed/0kemptonTom Rogers, CEO of TiVoTom Rogers, CEO of TiVoTom Rogers (r), CEO of TiVoIan Brennan, creator/writer Glee (19 Emmy nominations) @ 2010 Banff World TV Festivalhttps://ideasvacuum.wordpress.com/2010/07/08/ian-brennan-creatorwriter-glee-19-emmy-nominations-2010-banff-world-tv-festival/
https://ideasvacuum.wordpress.com/2010/07/08/ian-brennan-creatorwriter-glee-19-emmy-nominations-2010-banff-world-tv-festival/#respondThu, 08 Jul 2010 16:05:13 +0000http://ideasvacuum.wordpress.com/?p=61The wildly popular TV show Glee (imdb), with 19 Emmy nominations, has become a favourite show of mine Emmy nominees for best actress (Lea Michele as Rachel Berry), best actor (Matthew Morrison as Will Schuester), and in particular Best Supporting Actress (Jane Lynch as the mean and nasty Sue Sylvester) were a ton of fun to watch.

Ian Brennan
Writer, Glee
“Glee marked Ian Brennan’s first foray into television writing. Brennan began his acting career in Chicago working with the prestigious Steppenwolf and Goodman Theatres. He later moved to New York to pursue other opportunities in television and film, and has been involved with off-Broadway plays at the Vineyard, Playwrights Horizons and MCC Theatres. Brennan is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago. He was inspired to write Glee – a television show about a high school show choir – after participating in his high school’s show choir that never won anything and whose director later spent time in prison.”

An intro about the session,

“Brennan was inspired to write Fox’s smash hit show “Glee” – a television show about a high school show choir – after participating in his high school’s show choir that never won anything and whose director later spent time in prison. Alongside show creators, Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, Ian has created a musical menagerie that is redefining TV drama. It has quickly gained a cult following with extreme fanatics watching, buying, and loving everything associated with the musical show about a misfit high school show choir, their supportive teacher (Matthew Morrison) and arch enemy (Jane Lynch). The series continues to rack up accolades earning a Peabody Award in its first season, the 2010 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series—Musical or Comedy, and People’s Choice Award for Favorite New TV Comedy in 2010. Join Ian as we delve into the creative and inspiring process around GLEE:
• You finished the script in 2005 with little success at first, how did you get your first break?
• What was your inspiration for writing Glee? When you started writing the series did you know where the storyline would go and how it would end?
• How did you seamlessly incorporate musicality into the storyline?
• How important is product placement and other ways to make money like CDs, tours, downloads in today’s market?
• You’ve had some guest stars participating like How I Met Your Mother’s, Neil Patrick Harris, how important is star power to a show, and are their any other guest stars lined up?
• Can we get a sneak peek into the next season of GLEE and your plans for the cast?”

Wednesday’s $270 million verdict against the Walt Disney Co. over profits from “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” is part of a trend that should have Hollywood heavyweights worried: Juries lately are skeptical of so-called “Hollywood accounting” — and are not hesitant to award huge damages to creative types who cry foul.

Consider the evidence: A Riverside, Calif., jury of five women and four men, none of whom work in entertainment, awarded $269.4 million in damages to “Millionaire” producer Celador after only three days of deliberations — by far the largest jury award ever in a case alleging self-dealing among studio-owned entities. It unanimously endorsed Celador’s argument that Disney-owned ABC and Buena Vista Television violated a complex deal to produce and distribute “Millionaire” in North America by brokering sweetheart deals that cheated the U.K.-based Celador out of its 50% participation in the show.

“All the testimony showed there would be a sharing of rewards,” Celador lead trial attorney Roman Silberfeld said. “It became a huge success, but Disney changed the agreement. The jury roundly rejected that notion.”

That rejection is becoming a common theme.

The verdict came on the same day that actor-producer Don Johnson was awarded $23 million in profits from Rysher Entertainment over “Nash Bridges.”

Last month, an appeals court upheld a $3.2 million jury verdict for Alan Ladd Jr. against Warner Bros. over profits from several Ladd-produced films. And in 2007, a case brought by “Will & Grace” creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan against NBC Universal was settled shortly after a jury reached a $48.5 million verdict.

After seemingly disappearing for a few years, the “vertical integration” case is back — with a vengeance.

“This is a game changer,” said Larry Stein, a litigator who brought some of the first lawsuits challenging studio self-dealing in the 1990s on behalf of David Duchovny (against Fox over “The X-Files”) and the creators of “Home Improvement” (against Disney/ABC). After an initial wave of vertical integration cases, many studios changed deal language to limit damages and require private arbitration of claims. A key appeals court decision involving Gary Wolf, a profit participant on “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” also helped the studio cause, ruling that participants aren’t owed fiduciary duties, which eliminates the possibility of punitive damages in most cases.

“Everyone got discouraged,” said Stein, who represented Celador in the first few years of the six-year litigation. “But then the studios decided to fight a few of these cases on the older deals. A jury is always going to ask, ‘How much money did the studio make and how much did the profit participant make?’ And the jury will look at it and say, ‘That can’t be.’ ”

During the three-week trial, Silberfeld hammered home the accounting issue, arguing that ABC artificially deflated fees the network should have paid BVT and Disney-owned Valleycrest, which in turn decreased Celador’s share of revenue. The jury awarded $260 million on the network license fee claim and about $9 million on a claim over merchandising revenue.

Disney vowed to appeal the ruling.

“The judge and the jury got this all wrong,” Disney CEO Bob Iger told The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday at the Sun Valley executive confab.

Iger was one of several top execs that testified during the trial in front of U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Phillips.

Former WMA agents Ben Silverman, Greg Lipstone and John Ferriter all discussed under oath the dealmaking that brought “Millionaire” to the U.S., as did Celador topper Paul Smith.

WMA was not a defendant but it packaged the show and came under fire in the trial. Disney, led by attorney Marty Katz, blamed both the agents and Celador’s in-house lawyers for being aware of the license fee arrangement and not complaining about it. Lipstone, the chief negotiator for Celador and now an ICM agent, testified that he did not know that ABC was going to set a license fee equal to the show’s production costs until long after the 1999 contract was signed. He said if he knew that was going to be the arrangement, he would have informed Celador and would not have closed the deal.

Former Disney chairman and CEO Michael Eisner never appeared at trial, although an e-mail was read in which Eisner estimated the value of the show’s rights at $1 billion and said it would reverse the network’s fortunes. During Iger’s testimony, he contradicted Eisner’s e-mail by calling him a “great enthusiast” who might have been making “wild guesses” in describing the “Millionaire” franchise’s worth.

In the 1999 deal, ABC received broadcast nights to the show, while BVT got other rights like production and distribution. In exchange, Celador received an executive producer fee for each network episode (weekly fees in syndication) plus backend participation based on BVT’s gross receipts, subject to deductions.

Jurors were presented with four possible damages scenarios and chose none of them, instead fashioning their own calculation. Disney will likely focus on these calculations in an appeal that could take years to meander through the courts.

Reaction from the Hollywood litigation community focused on the recent spate of anti-studio verdicts in profits cases.

“Juries are highly skeptical and view studios in the same light as insurance companies,” said Neville Johnson, a litigator who is representing actor Jack Klugman in a profits case against NBC Universal over “Quincy M.E.”

“These are the types of claims that juries respond to in a visceral manner,” added Michael Kump, who is representing the creators of “Smallville” in another profits case against Warner Bros. “Even though they have complicated issues of accounting, juries can get their arms around it.”

In Louie‘s acceptance speech, Louie talked about measuring a documentary’s success in terms of the people you changed. And a movie as a “Weapon of Mass Construction”, something that changes millions of people’s life. “We are not making movies, we are trying to start a movement.”

Here is the award winning trailer (yes, the trailer won award too) of the Oscar winning documentary.

The following is from the press release.

“GREEN GRAND PRIZE
Green Grand Prize: Louie Psihoyos, Oscar Winner and director of The Cove. The prize recognizes outstanding achievement in creating public awareness and understanding of environmental issues through the use of visual media. Psihoyos was selected as a result of nominations received from all around the world, honouring his tremendous impact on a global level. Dr. David Suzuki, president of the Banff Green Jury, presented the award to Mr. Psihoyos.”

]]>https://ideasvacuum.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/oscar-winner-director-of-the-cove-wins-banff-green-grand-prize/feed/0kemptonLouie Psihoyos, Oscar winner & director of The Cove wins Banff Green Grand PrizeThe Good Wife (David Zucker, executive producer @ 2010 Banff World TV Festival master class)https://ideasvacuum.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/the-good-wife-david-zucker-executive-producer-2010-banff-world-tv-festival-master-class/
https://ideasvacuum.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/the-good-wife-david-zucker-executive-producer-2010-banff-world-tv-festival-master-class/#respondThu, 08 Jul 2010 00:28:02 +0000http://ideasvacuum.wordpress.com/?p=52The Good Wife, co-created by the husband and wife team Robert King and Michelle King, is a great TV series that I quite enjoy. It was my pleasure to attend an insightful master class by David Zucker, executive producer of The Good Wife, at the 2010 Banff World TV Festival.

David Zucker, executive producer of The Good Wife 2010 Banff World TV Festival master class

****

The following is David’s bio at Banff

“David W. Zucker is President of Television for Scott Free and Executive Producer of both the hit CBS drama, THE GOOD WIFE, starring Julianna Margulies, as well as the Friday night stalwart, NUMB3RS, which will wrap its sixth season in March. He is also Executive Producer of the eight-hour limited series, THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH, based on Ken Follett’s international best-seller. Ian McShane, Rufus Sewell, Matthew McFadyen and Donald Sutherland headline this summer event, which airs July, 2010 on STARZ. Meantime, production will commence this spring on a new CW pilot, NOMADS, the first U.S. television project to shoot on location in Thailand.

During his tenure, Scott Free has produced a steady stream of Award-winning longform programs including HBO’s INTO THE STORM, which earned 14 Emmy nominations and is a sequel to the Emmy-winning telefilm, THE GATHERING STORM. Other longform projects include A&E’s Emmy-nominated mini-series, Michael Crichton’s THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN and TNT’s epic six-hour spy thriller, THE COMPANY, a Golden Globe nominee, starring Michael Keaton and Alfred Molina.

Current pilot development includes a series about international money laundering from Evan Wright (GENERATION KILL) for HBO, a series tracking the domestication of a former CIA operative from Frank Spotnitz (X-FILES) for FX, a thriller about the privatization of law enforcement by Bruce McKenna (THE PACIFIC), a medieval western being drafted by Bill Broyles (FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS) for FBC, and an adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE in-the-works for the BBC.

Prior to joining Scott Free, Zucker worked as Story Editor on the popular CBS series, JUDGING AMY, and wrote pilot scripts for CBS and ABC as well as various stage plays. Zucker also served as Vice President of Drama Series for CBS, and Vice President of Drama Series and Current Programs at Warner Bros. Television, overseeing such shows as “E.R.,” “Lois & Clark,” “Knots Landing” and “Murphy Brown.””